Niels Schultz Jr., who developed Greenbrae, dies at 89

Niels Schultz Jr., a key figure in the development of Greenbrae, died Jan. 27. He was 89.

Mr. Schultz teamed with his father to develop Greenbrae - initially dubbed Kentmore - from 635 acres of farmland.

Mr. Schultz helped build more than 1,000 homes, 1,500 apartments and dozens of businesses between Highway 101 and Manor Road in Kentfield. He served on numerous building groups in Marin and was a proponent of Marin General Hospital affairs for years.

"I would describe him as a pillar of the community," said Hank Buhrman, who was chief executive of Marin General when Mr. Schultz was on the hospital's board. He "has been the very fiber, the backbone of the community. He built Greenbrae from nothing."

Born in San Francisco on May 27, 1918, Mr. Schultz attended Stanford University, graduating in 1939 with a degree in civil engineering. He married Mary Barbara Levick in 1941 and joined the Army Air Corps, serving as a lieutenant colonel in World War II.

Upon his return from the war, Mr. Schultz went to work with his brother, Alvin, for their father's development company. In 1946, Schultz Building Co. bought 635 acres from the Archdiocese of San Francisco and broke ground on what was known as "Marin's new city."

Greenbrae was designed as a neighborhood of custom homes and oak trees, set into the hills on winding streets with Spanish names. For the era, there was an unusual emphasis on saving trees, design, setbacks, landscaped medians and open areas. The Schultzes also left a tract to be developed for Marin General Hospital and developed Bon Air Shopping Center.

Mr. Schultz served on the Marin County Planning Commission from 1956 to 1970. He also served as president of the Marin Builders Association, chairman of the Home Builders Council of California and director of the Associated Home Builders of San Francisco.

"My father felt very lucky to be a part of this community," said Mr. Schultz's daughter, Andrea. "As they gave to the community, the community gave back."

Mr. Schultz was on the board of the Marin General Hospital Foundation from 1985 to 1993 and served as chairman from 1988 to 1993. He was later named director emeritus of the board.

Mr. Schultz, who campaigned for new technology and improved facilities at Marin General for years, was a generous donor, recently making a large contribution to the Marin Cancer Center for a linear accelerator.

"He saw there was a need to keep the hospital on the cutting edge of technology," said Linda Tavaszi, executive director of physician service at Marin General. Tavaszi served as the hospital's senior vice president when Mr. Schultz sat on the board.

"Helping the hospital stay up to date and fully funded was one of his meanings in life," Tavaszi said.

Mr. Schultz was named Larkspur's "senior citizen of the year" in 2007 and was the Larkspur "citizen of the year" in 1991.

He is survived by his wife, Mary Barbara, three daughters, 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Another daughter, Erica, died earlier.

A public memorial service will be at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 12 at the Holy Innocents Church at 2 Tamalpais Drive in Corte Madera. Gifts may be given to the charity of one's choice.